GQP Ditches Pro-Life Principles For Survival
Republicans are ramping up efforts to distance themselves from the restrictive abortion positions that have defined their party since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade — scrambling to soften their hard-line positions.
The group includes Trump and JD Vance, and House members and gubernatorial candidates as nearly two-thirds of Americans say they believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Trump — who regularly claims credit for overturning Roe — wrote in an all-caps post on social media that he would veto a federal abortion ban.
A small group of House Republicans and Republican candidates are espousing support for abortion rights — while not necessarily backing legal protections proposed by Democrats. In one example, Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) recently described himself as “pro-choice,” despite earning positive ratings from antiabortion groups because of his voting record.
And several Republican gubernatorial candidates have released misleading ads that try to gloss over their past support for abortion restrictions.
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (N.C.) released a new ad claiming he supports the state’s current law — which bans nearly all abortions because of his and his wife’s “very difficult decision” three decades ago to have an abortion.
But his previous statements have gone much further than the state’s existing law, including saying he preferred “a six-week bill” and describing abortion as “killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”
“Republicans know that their hostility to abortion is dragging them down, they know that the public is not enjoying the post Roe v. Wade world, so they are desperately scrambling to reverse those trends by lying about their stance,” said Emily Martin, chief program officer at the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, “But it is a little shocking that there is such a shameless attempt to rewrite recent history.”
Though portions of the Republican base staunchly oppose reproductive rights, polls show that a majority of the country favors them. An August Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 62 percent of Americans opposed the overturning of Roe.
A Pew Research Center poll from earlier this year found that 63 percent of Americans thought abortion should be legal in all or most cases. And two recent Fox News polls show 50 percent of Arizona Republicans plan to vote for their state’s abortion rights amendment in November, while 54 percent of Nevada Republicans will do the same in their state.
The issue of abortion has become a political albatross for Republicans. Democrats, meanwhile, have highlighted the topic to their electoral benefit, when an emphasis on abortion rights helped stave off an expected “red wave."
This fall, abortion initiatives on the ballot in 10 states seem certain to keep the issue in the political spotlight.
©️Washington Post 2024
Arts & Crafts
2moHow is the entire thing not a big show? Come on. You know in your heart of hearts what's going on. I'd like to ask your senior staff and readers if you truly feel the TWO "options" we are given by the two "parties" are the best America has to offer. It's a show. When trillions are on the line, and so many carrier groups are deployed, what we see now is a charade. Two "sides" of investors/ corporations/ interests hoisting up figureheads while teams of 'advisors' (from corporations and lobbies all getting money from the same banks) do the real work. What, exactly, are we? We say democracy and then people yell 'Republic'! But then we say we're a democracy. Well, we're a democratic republic! No we're not. We're an oligarchy and we're being played like pawns. We ALL know this. So why do we pretend otherwise? On the state level down, we may be more of a democracy, sure. But we're not sure what we all are now. NE one's guess? Ask Hulk Hogan. He's probably more aware than NE one.